


who's gonna save us tonight

by something1d



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: I should probably learn how to tag, M/M, Oops, oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-01-20 09:04:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1504607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/something1d/pseuds/something1d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>there's Louis, and there's Harry, but there's no LouisandHarry. and Louis wants to change that.</p><p>larry stylinson, high school au.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Copyright © 2014 by something1d, all rights reserved.

"And then we went to this art museum, Louis, and he put his arm around me --"

"How lovely."

"It really was! And then we had lunch in these gardens, surrounded by all these beautiful flowers --"

"Fantastic."

"--and then he told me I looked nice, and like..."

Harry trails off and sighs dreamily. Louis wants to throw up. 

"He's perfect, Louis. I didn't think I'd ever find anyone like him." 

Louis briefly turns away to hide the grimace spreading across his face, and when he's sure he's composed his features into something that can (barely) pass as genuine, he faces Harry once more. "That's fabulous, Haz. I'm glad that you and Nick are happy."

Harry's grin gets wider, and he gently rests a hand on Louis' arm. Louis pretends like it isn't burning into his skin. "Thanks, Louis. Really."

Louis shrugs, and scratches his nose. 

They're silent for a moment, then Harry lightly nudges Louis' leg with his foot. "Hey," he says quietly, in that soft voice that makes Louis' heart hurt. "What's up?"

Shit. "What do you mean?"

Harry's smile fades a bit. "Just wanted to know if you were okay, is all. You seem kind of...off."

Louis forces himself to smile, and gives Harry a tiny nod. "I'm great. Promise."

Harry's eyes flit about Louis' face, and then come to rest upon Louis' eyes, as if searching for something. Louis smirks, and flicks Harry's cheek. "What, you don't believe me?"

Harry's mask of concern cracks here, and he smiles a little. "Nah, of course I do, you freak. I've never not believed you; why should I start now?"

Louis feels like he's been punched in the gut. "Good, that's what I thought."

After a few more seconds of silence, Louis coughs. "Well, I -- I best be getting to class, then. The bell's going to be ringing soon."

"Alright Lou. I'll see you in English?"

"Yeah, see you."

With that, Harry gives Louis a sparkly grin, grabs his satchel, and walks away, leaving Louis to stand there alone and watch him go.

****

Every time Louis sees Harry at school, he's with Nick.

Every time Louis and Harry have a conversation, they're talking about Nick. 

Every time Louis and Harry hang out, Nick's with them.

Basically, what Louis' trying to get at here, is that Harry's with Nick quite a lot. And that doesn't sit well with him.

And, okay, maybe he's exaggerating a bit. He and Harry do get to hang out one-on-one, and they do talk about lots of things other than Nick. They have been best friends for four years, after all, from eighth grade until now, in eleventh grade. But a lot of the time, Nick's with them somehow, either physically or just through Harry blabbing on about him. And the way Harry's eyes light up every time Nick's around or every time Nick is mentioned makes Louis feel like he's repeatedly being jabbed in the gut. 

The worst part, though, is that Louis can't even do anything about it. 

****

_"Oh, hey Louis. Can I talk to you?"_

_Louis swallows thickly and forces himself to not look at Harry as he opens his locker. "Sure, what's up?"_

_He hears Harry cough, and then he hears the shuffling of feet, and he can't keep himself from looking back any longer. He turns around to see Harry behind him, hands clasped behind his back and muss of curls in his face, covering half of one of his eyes._

_Louis raises his eyebrows expectantly, feeling like he knows where this is going. A feeling of dread settles in the pit of his tiny ninth-grader stomach as he attempts to push down all of his nerves._

_He's known that since the eighth grade, Harry's gotten flustered and nervous around him. He knows that the way Harry smiles at him is different, much different from the way anyone else does. But the thing is, that upsets him._

_Harry's his best friend -- nothing more. And Louis doesn't want it to be anything more. He's comfortable with where their friendship is at, and he loves having Harry around and everything. But he does not want anything more with him, not even in the slightest. How could he jeopardize what they have like that?_

_"I've been wanting to talk to you about this for a while now," Harry says in a voice that sounds much too tiny for his extraordinarily tall self. Louis swallows thickly. "Well, you can -- you can go ahead and talk to me about it now."_

_Harry nods and then sighs, pushing his hair out of his face so that Louis has a clear view of his eyes, and Louis' heart flutters a bit when he looks into them, but he pushes the feeling down._

_"I -- um."_

_Harry's greens are clouded with fear, and Louis just wants to hug him, hug him and apologize and change the subject, and never talk about this again._

_"I really like you Louis."_

_Louis has to work to stop himself from cringing._

_"Yeah, I like you too Harry," Louis says, trying to keep his tone light and playful. His voice cracks mid-sentence though, betraying him._

_"No, I mean." Harry takes a deep breath. "I mean, as more than a friend. I really like you."_

_Louis swallows thickly. "Oh."_

_He watches as the hopeful light in Harry's eyes dims, and feels a sharp guilt jolt through his body._

_"So..." Harry says quietly, shifting from side to side uncomfortably._

_Louis sighs, shutting his locker door and turning around to face Harry. "Haz, I care about you a lot. You know that."_

_Harry nods, looking down at his feet. "But not like that, then?" he says quietly, in a broken voice. The worst part about it is that he asks as if he's clinging to one last spiderweb-thick strand of hope, and Louis almost wants to revoke his statement and tell Harry that yes, he likes him in that way too._

_But Harry's far too kind, and Louis could never lie to him. He has to tell him the truth; it's what's best for the both of them._

_Louis bites his lip and waits for Harry to look back up at him before answering. He's never seen Harry so vulnerable before, and it makes Louis feel like the biggest dick in the entire fucking universe. "Yeah, not in that way," Louis says softly. "I'm sorry."_

_Harry nods slowly and clears his throat. "No, don't be sorry, Lou. S'not your fault, it's mine."_

_Louis' eyebrows shoot up at this, because, um, what? Is he joking?_

_"Haz, you're kidding, right? You don't actually think you're at fault here, do you?"_

_Harry shrugs, looking past Louis' face into the wall of lockers behind him._

_Louis takes a step closer to him. "Now look here, Harry Styles," he says firmly. "You're my best friend, alright? Nothing you say or do is going to change that. This," he gestures to him and Harry, "is not going to change that. The only thing that could change that is, well, if you decide you don't want to talk to me anymore."_

_Harry shakes his head rapidly here, sniffling a bit. The sound makes Louis' body jolt again, wrought with guilt._

_"I fully intend," Louis continues, "On us continuing to be friends, just as we've always been. No one's going to pull that stupid 'I'm going to ignore you because there's awkwardness' bullshit here, yeah? We're best friends. We talk to each other about everything. And I'm very glad you were honest, and told me the truth right now."_

_Harry gives Louis a small smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes._

_"What I'm trying to say here, is, if you're scared that I hate you now or something because of what you told me, then you're dead fucking wrong. I could never hate you, H."_

_Harry lets out a tiny exhale. "Yeah, um. That's good, then."_

_Louis smiles. "So, friends?"_

_Harry nods. "Of course," he says so quietly that it's almost a whisper, and he holds his arms out for a hug. Louis steps into them, wrapping his arms around Harry's torso. Harry holds onto him tightly, burying his face into Louis' shoulder, and Louis doesn't make a move to stop him._

_When Harry finally pulls back, his eyes are kind of damp. "Thanks Lou," he says quietly, before taking a few steps backwards. "My ride's here, I've got to go. Text you tonight?"_

_"Please do," Louis says, giving him a smile._

_And Harry smiles back -- a genuine one this time -- before leaving._

_Louis stands, alone, and watches him walk away._

****

Louis thinks about this moment often, about this one time that Harry told him he had feelings for him. He thinks about it while he's at his locker, standing there and gazing emptily at the textbooks and binders carelessly thrown into it -- "I was standing right here when Harry told me he liked me," or, "I was standing right here when I broke Harry's heart."

If there's anything Louis would go back in time and re-do, it would be that conversation. He'd slap himself in the face and tug himself forward by his shirt and yell, "Don't you fucking see, you idiot, that he's it for you?! That he's all you've ever wanted?! That in two year's time, he'll be with someone who doesn't deserve someone like him?! That he should be with you, but you went and fucked it up?!"

He'll stand there at his locker and turn around and look at that empty spot where Harry stood, or he'll be watching Harry and Nick flirt in class, or he'll look at Harry giving Nick the smile that was once Louis' smile, that Harry gave to Louis only -- and he'll wonder what happened. 

****

_Louis bursts into the school bathroom, breathing heavily. He briefly scans the room and checks under the stall doors to make sure nobody's inside before letting out a strangled squeal and kicking his way into the largest one, slamming the door behind him and violently tugging the latch into place._

_He pushes the toilet seat down and plops down on top of it, burying his face in his hands as tears run down his cheeks. He's crying, crying so loud but he can't help it, and he knows that if anyone walks into the bathroom right now, he's screwed._

_He knows he shouldn't be crying; he has to go back to class in five minutes or so. His math teacher is kind of a dick, and will get suspicious if he's gone for any longer._

_He squeezes his eyes shut and pushes strands of hair out of his face, swallowing thickly and attempting to even out his breathing. He feels like he's suffocating, like oxygen is just barely making it into his lungs, like his heart is about to shrivel up and explode inside of his chest._

_He can't believe he let himself succumb to such bullshit. He can't believe he let someone have so much control over his emotions, over him. He just felt so important, being a tenth grader who was asked out by an eleventh grader. How was he supposed to know that someone he trusted, someone like Stan who was supposed to be his friend, was going to rip his heart out like this?_

_Well, no more. Stan can go fuck himself. Louis lets out another choked sob at the thought._

_Who even fucking breaks up with someone at school? What kind of fucking dick even is Stan? How could Louis have ever thought he was genuine? He lied to him, he lied and broke his promises and left Louis in the dust._

_Louis wipes at his eyes, and after another minute or so, thinks he's calmed down enough. He steps out of the stall and looks in the mirror, and takes in his wet face and puffy eyelids, and sighs._

_He turns the faucet of the sink closest to him, bending down to splash some cool water on his face. That helps some, but it's still obvious that he's been crying, and then when people see, they'll start gossiping and everything will go to shit._

_He's frantically thinking about what he's going to do when eyes instinctively catch movement in the corner of the mirror, and he spins around quickly._

_When he sees who's standing there, he feels a fresh round of tears burning threateningly behind his eyes._

_Harry's frozen, standing near the door with wide eyes, arms hanging lamely at his sides. What makes Louis want to cry, though, is that all Louis sees written on Harry's face is concern, and fuck, he's so lucky to have Harry in his life._

_"How long have you been standing there?" Louis asks quietly, and Harry answers without so much as blinking. "A while."_

_Louis nods, and says nothing more._

_Then, Harry takes a deep breath, and whispers, "Stan?" He says it so quietly, as if he's afraid that saying it too loudly would make everything worse._

_But, really, as if it makes any fucking difference._

_Louis feels his lip trembling, and Harry takes a quick step forward, holding a hand out. "No, love, please. Don't. You don't want him to think he's won, do you?"_

_Louis lets out a shaky breath. "I didn't know it was a competition," he says quietly, and Harry shakes his head slowly. His eyes, Louis thinks, are the brightest things in the room; they turn everything else gray. "It isn't. But he's a dick, so, he'll try to make it into one. You're better than that, better than him."_

_Pause._

_"Yeah, that's -- that's definitely something he'd do."_

_Harry bites his lip, taking another step forward. Louis fidgets. More silence._

_"Haz, how -- how'd you know I was here?"_

_"I didn't. I left class to go to the bathroom, and I walked in, and I heard you crying, and. I knew it was you."_

_"H-how?"_

_Harry gives Louis a small smile. "After knowing you for this long, I'm pretty sure I could identify your voice from miles away. Like bats, and dolphins."_

_Louis lets out a watery laugh, and Harry's smile widens, and he walks over to Louis now, all hesitance gone. He wraps Louis in his arms, and Louis buries himself in Harry's tall, wide body. He sniffles into Harry's sweatshirt, slightly self-conscious because he's probably getting tears and snot all over it, but it feels nice so he doesn't pull away. Their heights match so perfectly, in such a way that the top of Louis' head is directly under Harry's chin -- and it makes Louis feel safe._

_"You're so much better than him," Harry mutters, and Louis squeezes him tighter. "He doesn't deserve you. I'm not going to let him hurt you again."_

_After a few seconds more, Louis pulls back, and yup, Louis sees the dark snot/tear spot on the gray material on Harry's chest and cringes. He tries to wipe at it, but that doesn't help, and Harry laughs. "Don't worry about it, really."_

_"Sorry," Louis says quietly, looking up into Harry's eyes. Something warm flutters in Louis' stomach, and that's -- that's fucking weird._

_It's incredible, what he and Harry have. It's been nearly a year since Harry told Louis he had feelings for him, but they haven't talked about that day since. They just went back to being how they've always been, and Louis doesn't know if Harry still has feelings for him now -- and at this point, it doesn't matter. All he cares about is that Harry's in his life, and he's incredibly thankful that it didn't cause a rift in their friendship -- they're closer than ever._

_"Thank you," Louis says then, and he means it, with everything he's got. Yeah, he still feels like shit, but Harry's made him feel a little lighter, like he can breathe again._

_"Always," Harry says with a smile, before walking toward the door. "I should be heading back. You good? Or do you want me to walk with you to class?"_

_"Nah, I'm fine, Haz."_

_"Okay," Harry says, before taking a few final steps toward the door and grabbing the handle. He pauses, though, and turns back. "Don't be too hard on yourself, yeah? Love you Lou."_

_He says it so casually, and it shouldn't be a big deal because they say "I love you" to each other all the fucking time. But this time -- this time, it's different. There's a sort of weight on the statement, some sort of importance, something else._

_"Love you too," Louis says quietly, nearly choking on the words. The second they leave his lips, he feels like something's happened -- something's changed. His stomach feels like it's expanding, and he wants to say something else, but before he can, Harry's pulling the door open._

_And Louis stands there and watches him go._

****

"We should probably finish the stuff for the project by Sunday," Louis says as he walks with Harry to their first period class. He's reading the bullshit directions for this group project they have to do for history as they walk, and he nearly runs into -- well, basically everything. 

Harry sighs. "Do we have to?" he whines, and Louis smiles up at him fondly. "Don't be a child," he says, and Harry just rolls his eyes. He can't stop himself from grinning back, though, and that sends Louis' heart a-flutter. 

"Louis, we should go and get breakfast together some time," Harry says out of nowhere, and Louis' chest clenches up. "What?" he says, pretending to still be reading from the paper. Harry snatches the paper from his hands, and elbows Louis. "We should go out to breakfast together. I went to this great place with Nick last weekend, it's got the best pancakes ever. I want to take you there."

The smile drops off of Louis' face, and he presses his lips together. "Hm. Sounds interesting."

"Oh my god!" Harry exclaims suddenly, and Louis starts. "What happened?!"

"Look! It's Nick!" he says excitedly, pointing ahead of them. Louis peers over the crowd of people around them and sees Nick's obnoxiously big head walking quite a ways ahead of them, hair flopping this way and that. 

He doesn't expect Harry to start walking faster -- to basically start running, actually, in his effort to catch up to Nick. He doesn't expect Harry to just leave him without so much as a goodbye. He doesn't expect to watch Harry poke Nick's side, and he doesn't expect to see Nick's eyes light up delightedly when he sees it's Harry. 

And he doesn't expect to feel worthless, to feel like he doesn't mean anything to Harry at all anymore, to feel like Nick's stolen the happiness that's rightfully his. 

And he doesn't expect to feel like he brought this upon himself. As if, in a sick way, this is Louis' poetic justice -- like he deserves all of the frustration and anger and betrayal he's feeling. 

But he does. 

And he decides that he's going to do something about it.


	2. Chapter 2

He's got to do it. He hasn't got any other options. But, the thing is, he can't find him. And that's a problem.

Louis' frantically walking through the locker hall, trying to get to the other end so that he can catch Harry before he heads home. He pushes through girls chattering excitedly about their crushes and tiny freshmen grumbling about their homework, and then he finally gets to the door, and he sees him. 

The scene before Louis looks like it's been taken straight out of a fashion magazine, a candid photo in which Harry is modeling the gorgeous flannel and jeans combo he's wearing as he talks to whoever it is he's talking to. He can't understand how he didn't see it before. 

"Hey Haz," Louis says in an obnoxiously loud voice as he gets nearer, "You got time to get some food and hang out a bit? I feel like we haven't talked in a while." He can barely get the words out. He has no idea how he's going to tell him. 

"Lou!" Harry says just as loud, and by the time Louis actually gets close enough to Harry to talk in a normal voice, whoever he was talking to is gone. Harry doesn't seem like he cares very much though -- his eyes are on Louis. "God, I wish I could," he says, giving Louis a tiny frown. "But Nick wanted to hang out and stuff, I'm actually waiting for him right now."

"Oh."

Harry pats him on the arm. "Sorry bud. Maybe another time?"

Bud. Wow. 

"Um, yeah. Okay. Another time then."

Harry smiles again. "Perfect. You look great today, by the way. Not that you don't look great every day, Louis, but...you look especially nice." He says it so sincerely that Louis actually gets goosebumps, and fuck, why is Louis always the one getting screwed over? Why can't he ever get what he wants? 

"Thanks, H." And Louis smirks here, because he knows that H is a nickname that basically only Nick uses; it's almost reserved for Nick and Nick only. Louis can immediately see the surprise on Harry's face. 

"Um." Harry's speechless. Score one for Louis.

Louis then catches movement over Harry's shoulder, and sees Nick walking over to them, hair as obnoxious as ever. He then looks back to Harry. "I'll talk to you later then, bud." He puts extra emphasis on the word just to be a shit. 

"Y-yeah. Talk to you later."

Louis gives Nick a tiny nod as Nick gets closer, and Nick smiles at him and waves -- and gross, Louis really wants to barf but he's got to be nice to him because Harry -- and Louis turns promptly on his heel and walks away. 

And it feels good, this time, that it's Louis doing the walking away, and that Harry's the one stuck behind, watching him go. 

****

_"I don't want you to think badly of me."_

_"Are -- are you fucking joking? How could I ever think badly of you, Louis? When have I ever?"_

_Louis shrugs, examining his hands to avoid looking into Harry's eyes._

_"You know you can tell me anything, Lou. And you know that I won't ever judge you."_

_"I'm not sure about that. Well, not this time, at least."_

_Harry rolls his eyes. "Just tell me."_

_Louis swallows thickly. How the fuck is he supposed to say this? "Um."_

_Harry's just sitting there, watching him expectantly._

_He's got to say it, doesn't he?_

_Louis' heart is pounding so hard in his chest, so loud that he's afraid Harry might be able to hear it. Harry shows no sign of this, however; he simply looks exasperated with the fact that Louis won't talk._

_Right then. Best get it over with._

_"I...I have..." He chokes on the words._

_How could he not have figured this out before, when he knew for certain that Harry had feelings for him? How could he not have come to this realization sooner? Why is it that every single part of Louis' life is an ironic shit-show?_

_It's just, it's been quite a few months after the break-up with Stan, but back when it had just happened, Louis felt like shit all the time -- except for when he was with Harry. And then somewhere between their long nightly talks on the phone, or impromptu beach trips, or cuddle sessions, Louis fell for him, just a teeny bit. Can you blame him?_

_Harry's wonderful, is the thing. He's a brilliant person, genuine and caring and gorgeous inside and out. Louis doesn't understand how he ever could've said no to this boy, how he could've ever been against the idea of being in a relationship with him; now, that's what he needs, that extra connection with Harry. They're just so good together, and they can read each other's minds, practically. They know everything there is to know about each other, they can communicate without words, everything about them fits._

_Hopefully Harry thinks so too._

_Harry raises his eyebrows, leaning forward. "You have what?"_

_"I have." Louis takes a deep, shuddering breath. "I have feelings."_

_Harry's expression is blank. Louis doesn't think he's gotten it yet._

_"I have feelings for....for you."_

_And then understanding hits Harry, and Louis dares to let himself hope the tiniest bit -- but when he watches Harry's eyes for a reaction, all he sees is sadness._

_Motherfucker._

_"Oh Louis," Harry says in a quiet, pitying tone, and Louis' cheeks are fucking burning right now. He's so, so embarrassed -- he should've just kept his damn mouth shut, he shouldn't have said anything. He couldn't have fucking expected Harry to wait for him, to still have feelings for him after an entire god damn year._

_Besides, he deserves this. He had Harry, at one point. He did. But he decided to let Harry slip from his fingers, and now he's lost him for good, hasn't he?_

_"Lou, I -- I'm sorry, but I --" The words die out on Harry's tongue._

_"Um. It's fine, Harry. I get it."_

_"No, I -- I don't want you to be upset, Lou." Harry's eyes are full of so much raw emotion that Louis can't look into them for longer than a few seconds at a time. Louis knows Harry means it, knows that he's not just saying it to be nice. But that doesn't make the rejection any less painful._

_The thing is, though, is, why does Harry look so uncomfortable? If anything, Louis should be the one feeling uncomfortable, and he does._

_Louis waits a little, and then Harry finally opens his mouth. "I have to tell you something too."_

_Louis' falls to the pit of his stomach. Shit. "Okay," he says shakily._

_Harry won't look him in the eyes. Bad sign. "I...I like Nick. And, like, we've been talking for a while now," Harry's talking faster and faster, trying to get the words out as quickly as possible, probably so as not to make it more painful by explaining slowly, like he's trying to rip a bandage off quickly, "And I think...I think I'm going to ask him out soon. I just feel like you should know, like, I don't want this to just spring up out of nowhere and have you think I'm a complete dick. I want everything out in the open. I'm so fucking sorry Lou, I'm so -- I'm so sorry. You know that I liked you for ages, for almost two years actually, but then when I met Nick I just -- I moved on, I guess. Plus, you were with Stan, and I mean, I thought it was pointless to have feelings for someone who's in a relationship, so I kind of -- kind of made myself move on. And then Nick, and, yeah. Oh gosh. Don't hate me. I love you Lou, you know that, but not like that. I dont' know what I'd do with myself if I ever lost you, I need you, please don't be upset with me."_

_To Louis' intense shock, Harry's nearly in fucking tears. He's feeling like this entire situation is really fucked up, like he should be the one almost crying, not Harry. But their friendship has never been of the most traditional kind, so._

_Harry's looking down at his lap now, lip trembling. Louis wants to explode and cry and scream and clone himself so that one of him could punch the other one in the face. He cannot believe his rotten luck right now, cannot believe that the second he starts to have feelings for Harry, Harry moves on._

_God, fucking Nick. He feels the wave of emotion consume him now, as big as a fucking tsunami wave, engulfing his mind, flooding his heart. It's a bit of a delayed reaction -- he had been so shocked to see Harry crying that he didn't even think about the fact that Harry likes Nick._

_Nick Grimshaw. The piece-of-shit hipster douchebag, the fucking shithead who thinks he's better than everyone else._

_How in the fucking hell does someone as wonderful as Harry have feelings for someone as fucked up as Nick?_

_"I'm -- I'm not mad at you, Harry," Louis says quietly, and it's the truth -- a truth that Louis' very proud of, actually. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he lost Harry either. He needs Harry in his life, he's not going to kick him out just because he doesn't reciprocate his feelings._

_Harry looks up at him hopefully, a lone tear streaming down his cheek. "Really?"_

_"Yes, really. I'm not mad at all. I can't be mad at you for liking someone, it's not like you did it purposely to hurt me or anything. You couldn't control it."_

_Harry shakes his head rapidly here, curls bouncing on his head. Louis really wants to kiss him. He can't. "So, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."_

_Harry bites his lip. "Remember what you told me freshman year, when I told you I liked you?"_

_Louis breathes heavily out of his nose and nods._

_"Well, I basically want to say the same thing. I don't want this to change anything in our friendship."_

_Louis gives Harry a small smile, despite the fact that he feels as though his insides are shattered. "Don't worry, babe. I don't want our friendship to change any more than you do."_

_"Good."_

_Harry holds his arms out for a hug here, and Louis' eyes widen. He feels like he's about to start hyperventilating. "I don't -- I don't think I can, right now."_

_Harry slowly lowers his arms, looking hurt, as though he's going to cry again. "O-okay."_

_"Haz, it's not because I don't want to hug you, and it's not because I'm mad at you. It's just...I don't think I could handle that right now. I'll get over it though, I promise. Just, not now. I'm sorry."_

_The hurt leaves Harry's face, and is now replaced with guilt. "Oh, I'm -- I'm sorry. I understand. Take as much time as you need."_

_Louis smiles in thanks, and stands up. "I think -- I think I'm going to go home now. My mom will be wondering why I haven't come home from school yet."_

_Harry nods. "Okay, that's -- that's fine. I'll text you tonight, if that's okay with you?"_

_Louis smiles again. "That's more than fine with me, Curly." He ruffles Harry's hair. "I'll see you."_

_"Bye," Harry says quietly as Louis walks away, and Louis wants so badly to turn around and run into Harry's arms, to hug him and cry and hope for Harry to change his mind._

_But it won't, and he knows that. So he doesn't._

_What he does do, though, does not involve driving home._

_He goes to the bathroom in the locker hall instead, for old time's sake, and shuts himself in that same stall, and cries until he hasn't got any more tears left to cry._

_What Louis doesn't know, though, is that Harry came to this bathroom too, knowing somehow -- with the sixth fucking sense they have in regards to each other -- that he was going to be there. And when he pokes his head inside and hears Louis' sobs, he can't help but dart out of the room, plop down on the dirty floor, and burst into tears himself -- right outside the bathroom door._


	3. Chapter 3

Bzzzzzz.

Louis cracks his eyes open a tiny bit, flinching at the light burning into his room through the window. He groans angrily, feeling his pillow buzz beneath his head. He's going to murder whoever's calling, he's going to absolutely -- 

Bzzzzzz.

He lets out a strangled squeak of frustration, frantically grabbing around under his pillow in an attempt to find his phone.

Bzzzzzz.

His fingers come into contact with solid, heavy material, and he sighs in relief, pulling his phone out from beneath his pillow and holding it up to his face. He's about ready to fucking catapult the fucking phone through that god damn window, after which he will promptly bury himself so deep into his comforter that no one will ever be able to find him again. 

Louis blinks tiredly at the screen, eyes locked on the name flashing on it in bright white -- but then, his brain makes the final connection and everything sinks in and he squeals in nervousness this time, as opposed to anger. 

He quickly swipes open the phone and holds it up to his hear. "Hello?"

"Louis!" Harry's voice answers him happily. It's echoing in a strange way in which it seems as though he's on speakerphone, and that makes Louis suspicious. 

"Hi Haz," he says warily in response, and Louis hears lots of movement and shuffling in response. If that's Nick, he's going to fucking hang up the phone. 

"Haz? What's that noise?"

"Oh, sorry Lou, it's my car! I'm driving over to your house right now!"

Louis sits bolt upright. "What?! Why?!"

"Because you wanted to hang out after school yesterday, remember? But I had plans with Nick. So I decided, we should hang out today!"

"What makes you think I don't have plans?!" Louis nearly screeches, and Harry laughs. "Louis, we all know that you reserve Saturdays for 'Louis Time.' And by 'we all,' I mean me. And by 'Louis Time,' I mean you sitting around your house with pizza, Chinese takeout, and Netflix."

"Louis Time is sacred! You don't interrupt Louis Time! Those are as good plans as any, I'd say."

Harry laughs again. "I'll be there in five. Get dressed, I know you're probably still in bed right now."

Louis' heart flutters. See? They know fucking everything about each other. It's ridiculous. 

Harry then hangs up, and Louis groans, tossing the phone onto his mattress. He had been planning to tell Harry that he'd never gotten over him, that he still has feelings for him, when they were to hang out yesterday. This, though -- this is an ambush. Louis can't possibly tell him today.

But even so, Louis smiles to himself. Today, he'll have Harry all to himself.

****

"So, I was thinking about calling Nick to meet up with us after lunch, if that's alright with you?"

Today, Louis does not have Harry all to himself.

They're currently sitting in a cafe, in an adorable terrace area set up overlooking the beach. They can see the pier from where they're sitting, and every time he sees that pier, Louis fondly thinks about the days he'd come here with his mother, holding her hand and begging her for ice cream, and running around to try and scare as many pigeons as possible. 

He also reminisces about the days he'd come here with Harry, months and years ago. They'd run down to the liquor store in the plaza a minute's jog away from the pier, and grab as many chocolate bars and iced teas as they could afford, and then they'd run straight to the beach and onto the sand, stumbling and laughing at each other, until one of them would decide that enough is enough and just plop down right there, wherever. The other would join him, and they'd sit there, getting sand in their clothes and enjoying the breeze ruffling their hair and being happy. Louis misses being with that Harry, before Nick insidiously invaded not only Harry's life, but Louis' life by association.

"Lou? Is that not okay with you?" Harry asked, the eleven appearing between his eyebrows as he furrows them in concern. 

Louis jumps. Was he too obvious? "Huh? Why would you think that's not okay with me?"

The corner of Harry's mouth perks up a little into a smirk. "Because you grimaced the second I said Nick's name." He then takes a sip of his orange juice, the silver ring on his left hand glinting in the light. 

Louis should probably work on his facial expressions. 

"I didn't mean to?" 

Harry laughs. "That was the most unconvincing response I've ever heard."

Louis just eyes him warily. This is confusing, because Harry isn't mad.

"You're not mad."

Harry smiles at Louis. "Now, why would I be mad?"

Louis barks out a laugh. "Harry, he's your boyfriend."

Harry leans forward to pat Louis' wrist. "And you're my best friend. I'm not going to make you like my boyfriend. If you don't like him, that's your decision."

Louis' jaw drops open. Fuck Harry Styles and his perfect moral compass. 

"I do think you'd like him, though," Harry says softly. "You guys are a lot alike. Loud, funny, and you're never afraid to say what you're thinking."

Louis nearly spits out his water. That's ironic. Louis is thinking many things right now. Louis is not saying any of them. 

Thankfully, Harry doesn't seem to notice. 

"It's not that, Haz," Louis says quietly. "It's just, like you said, we're best friends. And we've done so many crazy, fun things together, and we've seen so many places and I want us to keep having our amazng adventures. I don't want that to change ever."

Harry nods eagerly, not taking his eyes off of Louis once. "And, I think," Louis continues, "That, erm. That it has changed, a little bit."

Harry raises his eyebrows. "How?"

Louis takes a deep breath. "Um. Nick, maybe?"

Harry still looks confused. Louis continues, stumbling over his words. "I mean, like, in the sense that -- that, you, um. You talk about him all the time. And that's not a bad thing, not even in the slightest, but, like. I feel like it's -- like he's all we talk about now. I mean, he's -- he's everywhere, basically, whenever we hang out. I feel like it's never just the two of us anymore."

Harry leans back in his chair contemplatively, tongue pushing out the skin of his face on the side of his mouth. "Huh."

Louis fidgets in his seat. He's kind of scared, if he's being honest, becuase he'd never told Harry about this before -- not in the entire year that he and Nick were dating.

"Lou, why didn't you tell me about this before?" is all Harry says, and it's completely terrifying, because wasn't Louis just thinking about that not even a second ago? (Case in point -- they know each other backwards and forwards. And they're not dating why?)

Louis shrugs. "I didn't want to make you mad, or upset you. I know -- " Louis swallows thickly here -- "I know how much you like Nick. I didn't want to make anyone angry." The words taste bitter in his mouth. He fucking hates Nick.

"I'm not mad! I'm just -- I'm just sorry. I didn't know you felt that way."

Louis resists the urge to roll his eyes, because really? Louis always makes fun of how obsessed Harry is with Nick. And he never realized it?

"Nah, don't be sorry. It's fine." That's a complete and utter lie, and Louis knows it. 

Harry's looking at him curiously now, over the top of his Ray-Bans. Louis doesn't think Harry believes him. 

And, looking at Harry now, Louis makes a decision. He was going to leave it at that, but, he has something to say. 

"After all," Louis says softly, fiddling with the napkin on his lap. "I know what it feels like to care about someone so much that they're practically all you think about. That it's almost like their happiness is all that matters, you know? So...I don't blame you, about Nick."

Louis' heart is going to fucking explode. That was risky, that was so, so risky. Each beat of Louis' heart is reverberating in his ears, makes him feel like his head might just explode too. 

Harry just tilts his head. "Oh shit, Louis, you're not on about Stan are you? Did he ask you to hook up with him again? I'll fucking punch him in the face, I swear, what a fucking dick. I can't believe he's still doing this after it's been so long!"

Louis sighs, resisting the urge to face-palm. Fuck.

****

After splitting the check, Louis follows Harry out of the cafe and towards his parked car. Harry stops Louis before they get in, touching his shoulder lightly and giving him the most genuine smile he's ever received. "I really am sorry, Lou. I promise, I'll be less lovey dovey around you. And we'll hang out more. I didn't want us to drift apart because of how much attention I pay to Nick."

Louis swallows thickly. Drift apart? He didn't think they drifted apart. Does Harry think they drifted apart? "Um, I mean. It's okay. I don't want you to feel obligated to, like, change the way you are around me."

Harry shakes his head. "Lou, shut up," he says fondly, "I care about you a lot, okay?"

Louis inhales deeply through his nose. "I care about you too." You have no idea. 

Harry gives his shoulder a last squeeze before sliding into the driver's seat, and Louis is left, dazed, to scramble into the seat next to him.

****

True to his word, Harry lays off with the whole Nick thing. When he and Louis hang out, he mentions Nick very rarely, if at all. They hang out after school more, and study together. They go to the beach on weekends. Harry even takes the time to sit with Louis at lunch, when for the past year, he's sat with Nick and Nick's friends every single day. 

Louis likes it, of course, but he feels like it's partly out of pity. He doesn't want Harry to pity him, not even a little bit. 

He doesn't really know what to do, to change this entire situation. How's he supposed to fix this? 

But, honestly, who is he kidding? This entire thing is entirely hopeless, and he fucking knows it. And he's just about ready to give up on everything, on Harry and all of it.

But then, he meets David.


	4. Chapter 4

Louis' always been a sucker for green eyes. Mainly because of Harry, he thinks, but he's a sucker for them nonetheless. He loves the way they look in the sun; they turn almost gold, in a magical sort of way.

And then he realizes, after staring for a substantial amount of time, how ridiculously stupid he's being, and curses himself out until he's feeling thoroughly embarrassed. 

Even so, green eyes are his favorite. Which probably explains how he meets David. 

See, he's running very late for his third class of the day -- he stopped at his locker for too long and is paying for it now -- and he's walking so fast that he isn't paying attention to anything around him. That is, until he turns a corner and walks straight into another person.

"Fuck," he hisses under his breath, running a hand through his hair. "God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to --"

He looks up to see mint-green eyes looking down at him, and he forgets everything he's thinking. 

"Woah," the owner of the eyes chuckles, "You good?"

Louis swallows thickly. "Yeah, um -- yeah. Sorry about that, it's -- it's my fault, and -- yeah. Sorry." He's fucking breathless.

The boy smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners. His hair is dark and his smile is gorgeous, a line of white teeth bordered by very kissable looking lips, and Louis has the sudden urge to cough, to do something to distract himself from what's happening here. 

"Um," the boy says, and Louis takes pride in the fact that he looks just as, if not more, flustered as Louis. "Don't worry about it. I'm -- I'm David, by the way."

Louis smiles at him. "Louis," he says quickly. "Listen, I'm -- I'm going to be late for class, so, I've got to run. See you around?"

David's smile widens. "Hopefully," he says quietly, and -- is that flirting?

Holy shit. 

Louis just turns around and walks away, forgetting completely about the fact that his math teacher is going to yell at him for being late, and everything else. 

Hm. David. 

****

Louis runs into David at lunch later that day. David offers to walk with him to go buy some food, and Louis bashfully says "O-okay" without giving it a second thought. They talk a bit, and Louis finds that David is funny and very sweet, and -- and it's all so nice. It's refreshing, being able to just talk and flirt with someone openly, without having to restrain himself from being too obvious or anything. He's spent an entire year pining over someone who's taken, and missing out on things like this. 

It almost upsets him.

Speaking of, Louis and David walk by Harry and Nick after Louis gets his slice of pizza, and when Harry and Louis make eye contact, Louis smiles and waves. Nick smiles and waves back, but Harry's eyes flicker to David, and he doesn't move. 

Louis doesn't know how he feels about that.

****

Before lunch is over, David bashfully asks for Louis' number, saying that he'd like to hang out with him sometime. Louis unsure about whether or not "hang out" translates to "go out," but then when David gently touches Louis' shoulder when Louis says something funny, the look in his eyes says it all. 

The weirdest thing is, though, that he feels guilty, of all things. Because of Harry.

But why should he? He and Harry aren't dating. He's not betraying anyone. 

Right?

****

"Nick and I have been fighting a lot recently," Harry says quietly over the phone, and Louis swallows thickly.

Is this it? Is this what he's been waiting for?

"Fighting?" he says weakly. "Why would you be fighting? You two don't really fight."

"I know right? We've never fought this much, just a few arguments here and there. But this -- this is happening every few days now, and I don't know what to make of it." 

Louis feels his phone buzz against his face, and removes it for a split second only to see the text message icon flash across the screen, accompanied by a bold, black "David."

Louis bites his lip. David can wait.

Harry clears his throat before continuing. "I don't know, he's just like, picking fights now. And he'll overanalyze the things I say, and pick apart my sentences. And then when I call him out about being kind of rude to me, he'll burst into tears and apologize. How am I supposed to respond to that?"

"And he's giving no reason for why he's so emotional? Maybe something's going on for him right now." Louis resists the urge to verbally annihilate Nick, thinking that it'd probably not be a smart move at the moment. He'd like to, though. He'd very much like to.

"Well, he claims to be stressed all the time." The way Harry says "stressed" makes it sound like he's putting air quotes around the word. "But I somehow doubt that. I don't know what's wrong."

"Maybe you should talk to him then," Louis says gently. "Thinking about it like this isn't going to help you at all." 

"Every time I try," Harry says, sounding exasperated, "He just cries. It's ridiculous."

Louis doesn't say anything, sensing that Harry's upset and wanting to give him a moment to calm down.

"I just don't know what to do," Harry says finally, and Louis decides that it's safe to talk now.

"In all honesty, Haz...I don't really know what to tell you." He hears a sharp intake of breath here. 

"No, Louis, don't say that, you -- you always know what I should do," Harry says quietly, his voice trembling. Louis' heart is aching for Harry, for how much he's upset. He's going to kill Grimshaw, the fucker.

"The best advice I can give you right now is to not do anything rash, okay? Think things through. Don't stress yourself out, please. I don't want you to be upset."

"No promises," Harry mutters, and Louis snorts, but doesn't say anything more.

"Thanks Lou," Harry says quietly. "I've gotta go."

"Don't stress Haz. Really. Listen to some calming music or something, I don't know. Don't worry yourself."

Harry laughs this time, and Louis thinks about how his mouth has probably quirked up at the corners in that charming way it does, and about how his eyes are probably shining and crinkled at the corners, with his long eyelashes splayed over his eyelids. 

"Again, no promises. I'll try, though, for you. G'night Louis."

For you. Louis can hardly breathe. "Night Haz."

The line goes dead. 

****

Louis and David go out on their first date on Friday night. 

David is nervous, Louis can tell. He keeps fidgeting, playing with his fingers on the table as they're eating dinner and glancing at Louis when he thinks Louis can't see. It's refreshing, having someone care so much about his opinion, about him. 

It doesn't stop him from wishing he were with Harry, though. 

He and David are just finishing up dessert and talking about their favorite movies when Louis' phone buzzes in his pocket. 

"Shit, sorry" he mutters -- in response to which David just smiles sweetly and shakes his head as if to tell him not to worry about it -- pulling it out of his pocket to silence it. 

Then he sees who's calling, and his eyes bug out of his head. 

He can't ignore Harry. Harry knew he was going to be busy tonight, Louis already told him he was going out to dinner. (He didn't exactly tell Harry who he was having dinner with though, and Harry didn't ask. He doesn't have to feel guilty about it. No sir.) He wouldn't call him without good reason. 

"Sorry David, this is kind of an emergency, can I take this?"

David's eyebrows furrow together in concern. "Of course Louis, don't even be sorry."

Louis' chest aches. This really isn't fair to David, not at all. "Thank you," Louis says, and he really means it. He rushes out of the restaurant, hitting "Answer" and holding the phone up to his hear. "Hello?"

He hears sniffling, and his heart crumples. 

"Haz?" Louis says softly. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nick. He --" Harry pauses, and Louis can hear his shaky breathing. "Can I come over?" Harry asks instead in a small, sad voice, and Louis wants to scream yes at the top of his lungs, but. 

"Haz, I'm -- I'm still at dinner. What happened?"

Harry sniffles again. "He...he called me an asshole, and told me that I whine too much and that he doesn't want to hear about my problems anymore. I don't even talk about things that much though, he's always the one whining to me. I -- I just don't understand, Louis."

Louis' jaw drops. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Harry doesn't respond, just coughs quietly and sniffles again. 

"I don't know what to do, Louis, he's -- he's being so mean to me, and -- and --" Harry's voice gets more and more unintelligable, until he's crying into the phone, not even trying to hide it anymore, and shit, Louis can't just go back to his date and pretend like this isn't happening right now. 

"Haz, I'm coming home. You can go to my house, I'll meet you there in a little bit, okay? And then we'll talk about this."

"Okay," Harry says quietly, and Louis wants to hug him so tight that his chest stops stuttering and aching, for him to stop crying and smile again. 

Louis hangs up the phone, and practically runs back inside. David's eyes find him quickly, still shining with concern. 

"David, I am so sorry," Louis says once he gets back to their table, "but I have to head home, there's -- there are things going on right now, and it's really important or I wouldn't be doing this right now. I can't even tell you how sorry I truly am, I'm so sorry."

"Louis, please. I completely understand, don't worry. I already paid for our dinner, we can leave right now if you'd like."

"No, I ruined our date, I can --" he fumbles in his pocket for his wallet, and David puts a comforting hand on his arm. "Don't even worry about it Louis," he says so sincerely that Louis' heart aches. "Thank you," Louis says quietly, and shit, he's absolutely, positively awful. David doesn't deserve this. 

The car ride back to Louis' is silent, with Louis thinking over what Harry said and getting more and more angry with Nick every second, and David biting his lip and looking over at Louis worriedly. 

When they finally pull onto Louis' street, he sees a figure sitting on Louis' front steps, slouched over dejectedly. Louis' heart starts beating faster.

David looks at Louis curiously. "Who's that?" 

Without taking his eyes off of Harry, Louis quietly says, "My best friend." 

David slowly comes to a stop in front of Louis' house. "Shit, he looks upset," David mutters quietly, and Louis winces. "He really does, doesn't he? He's having...relationship troubles."

"Poor guy," David says in response, and he's so sincere about it and Louis hates it, hates himself for actually agreeing to date possibly one of the nicest people on the planet when he has feelings for the crumpled boy sitting outside of his house. 

"Thanks again," Louis says, eyes still on Harry, who's watching him and David now, sitting up straighter and narrowing his eyes in an attempt to see through the darkness. 

"Hey," David says softly, and Louis turns around to look at him. "Don't even worry about it." 

Louis says nothing, and then David leans in gives him a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"O-okay," Louis says quietly, and steps out of the car. He hears David drive away, but doesn't turn around to watch, his only focus being on Harry as he walks up the path. 

"Do you want to come inside?" Louis says quietly, and Harry nods, looking deep in thought. Louis opens the door quietly, gesturing for Harry to walk in before stepping inside. 

"Hi sweetheart, you're home early! How was -- oh! Hi Harry!" Louis' mother says in greeting, and Louis gives her a look. "We're going to go into the kitchen and make some coffee, I think," he says quietly, and she nods knowingly, eyeing Harry's dejected expression. "We also have some leftover pasta in the fridge, help yourselves!"

"Thank you mom," Louis says, which Harry echoes quietly as they both walk into the kitchen. Louis gets started on a pot of coffee, and as it's warming, he spoons some pasta onto a plate and slides it into the microwave.

He bustles around the kitchen in silence, not prompting Harry to say anything. He doesn't want to push him before he's ready.

When the pasta's done, he sets the plate and a fork in front of Harry, and then proceeds to pour them two mugs of coffee. When he sits down at the kitchen table across from his friend, Harry pouts. "Thanks Louis, but I'm not hungry, it's -- "

"Shut up and eat, Haz. Food makes everyone feel better."

This makes Harry smile the tiniest bit, and Louis' heart swells. He takes a few bites of the pasta and a sip of coffee, and then sighs. "Who was that?"

Louis is shocked, to say the least, that the first thing out of Harry's mouth is a question about David. "Oh. Um. His name is David."

"Were you on a date?" His expression is carefully neutral, and Louis doesn't know how he feels about that. 

"I mean, sort of, I -- "

"I interrupted your date."

"No! We were leaving anyways, it's totally fine! Regardless, you're important to me. I couldn't just leave you."

"I'm important to you?" Harry says suddenly, not taking his eyes away from Louis'. 

Louis coughs into his hand. "Of course, are you kidding? You know that, Haz."

Harry fidgets. "You let me interrupt your date."

Louis doesn't say anything.

"That's...that's really nice, Lou," Harry continues quietly. Louis shrugs, not looking Harry in the eyes, for fear that too much is visible there. 

Harry takes a few more bites of pasta, and Louis clears his throat. "So...do you want to talk about it?"

Harry takes his time chewing and swallowing before responding. "To be honest, not really. I just wanted to see you. Spending time with you always makes me feel better."

Fucking hell.

Louis smiles down at his hands, and when he looks up, Harry's watching him with a slight smile on his face. 

And Louis thinks, that in Harry's smile and Harry's eyes, he might be seeing a bit of that look -- the look that Harry always gave Louis before Nick, the look that Harry always gave Louis before Louis lost his chance. 

And Louis is certain that he's giving Harry that look right back.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry and Nick's fighting continues for months.

It gets so bad at one point that they don't speak to each other for an entire week, before they finally fix whatever issue they had and become all "deep in love" again. 

Harry talks to Louis about Nick nonstop though, claiming that he's going to break up with Nick, but then a week later deciding that he wants to stay with him, etc. The cycle is endless, and to be honest, Louis is really sick and tired of it.

There's not much he can do about it, though. He just talks to Harry about it, like a good friend would, and waits.

****

David is waiting outside of Louis' classroom one Monday before lunch. 

"Oh, hey!" Louis says in surprise as soon as he walks out. "What's up?..."

David shrugs. "Just wanted to see you, maybe go grab some food or something. I have a pass, so we can drive wherever we want."

"Oh," Louis says, feeling uncomfortable. "Well, like. Okay. That sounds cool and all."

David pouts. "Do you not want to go?"

"No, I didn't say that! It's just, like -- "

"You don't want to go."

Louis can't find the energy to pretend to protest, so he just shrugs. "I'm sorry. Do you want to just have lunch with me here instead?"

David smiles as they begin to walk side by side. "Yeah, sounds cool."

The two make light conversation as they make their way over to an empty lunch table, David laughing at all of Louis' jokes. Louis tries really hard to focus on David, to give him the attention he deserves. 

But all Louis can do is glance around for Harry.

He can't do this anymore. He's got to end this, whatever it is. 

"You okay?" David asks as he slides into the seat across from Louis, and Louis forces a smile. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

David smiles wide. "Good, good."

Louis resists the urge to roll his eyes. 

He only just begins picking at his sandwich, listening to David vent about the bad grade he got on his "impossible biology test," when a tray of pizza lands on the table next to Louis' elbow with a loud bang. 

Louis jumps in his seat and chokes on his sandwich. 

"Hey guys!" a rough voice says in a tone that sounds enthusiastic, but has an undertone of bitterness.

Harry shoulders off his backpack and drops it on the floor carelessly, dropping onto the bench. He is sitting alarmingly close to Louis, and Louis doesn't know if he loves it or hates it. 

"Um, hi?" David says, looking confused. 

Harry just gives him a close-lipped smile, eyes glimmering with something foreign. 

"I don't think you guys have met before," Louis says quietly. "David, this is Harry, my best friend. Harry, David."

Harry's eyes twinkle with some sort of dark amusement. "Hi David," he says in the most fake tone Louis has ever heard him speak. David somehow doesn't pick up on it, and just grins at Harry. "Hey," he says, and Louis' heart breaks because this boy is kind and clueless and everything is so, so awful. 

Harry rests his chin on his hand, turning to face Louis and smiling for real this time. "I haven't seen you at all today," he says quietly, lightly bumping his shoulder against Louis'. His tone is fond, and Louis' hands are shaking in his lap. 

Louis laughs nervously, refusing to make eye contact with either of them. "Well, here I am!"

"Wait, Louis, is this that guy that was waiting at your house on Saturday night, when I dropped you off after our date?"

Oh shit.

"Yeah," Louis says squeakily. "Yes, that was Harry. Hey, David, do you -- "

"Louis," Harry interrupts forcefully, and Louis sighs. So much for changing the subject. "So this is the guy you went on a date with?"

Louis swallows thickly. "Yes Harry, that's him."

"I see."

The three are silent then, and Louis really just wants to crawl under the table and die. David's looking at him with a different look in his eye -- not a bad one, just one that Louis can't understand. 

After about thirty seconds longer, David stands up. "You know, I actually told a friend of mine I'd meet up with them right now, I'll just get going. Good to meet you Harry."

Harry grins triumphantly. "Byeeee," he says in a sing-songy tone, and Louis is really annoyed. "Bye David," he says over his shoulder, and David merely responds with, "I'll call you Lou."

Harry scowls. "Since when does he call you Lou?"

Louis just gives Harry a look, to which Harry responds with a confused face. "What?"

Louis rolls his eyes and grabs his backpack. "I've gotta go Harry, you should probably find Nick or something."

"No, Louis what'd I -- "

Louis refuses to listen to any more -- he just can't, not after that. What the fuck is Harry trying to pull, toying with his feelings like that? He can't do shit like that, he just --

And then of course, as Louis turns the corner, he nearly walks straight into Nick.

"Oh, hey Louis!" Nick says with a big smile on his face. Louis tries not to gag. 

"Hey," he says halfheartedly, attempting to step around him, but Nick grabs his arm. "Wait, do you know where Harry is?"

Oh god. "Yeah, he's at the tables over there," he says tiredly, pointing to where he came from, before continuing to walk without another word. And he doesn't even feel bad about it. 

****

The next day, Harry catches him walking out of his final class, and runs up to him. "Are you mad at me?" he asks breathlessly as Louis attempts to walk faster to get away from him. His hair is a disheveled mess, and Louis tries to stop the chills from running down his spine. "No, why would you think that?" he says sarcastically, and Harry rolls his eyes. "Maybe because you've been ignoring all of my texts since yesterday?"

Louis raises his eyebrows. "What texts?" he says in a fake-dumb tone, and Harry purses his lips. "Alright, fine. Be that way. I don't understand why you're angry with me."

There is so much that Louis wants to say. "Oh, don't you?"

"No, I don't!" Harry nearly shouts, exasperated. "I obviously don't want you to be mad at me, so why don't you tell me why you're mad so that I can fix whatever it is that I did wrong?! Are you mad that I interrupted your lunch with your boyfriend?"

"No, he's not my -- ugh," Louis says angrily, blood boiling. "Look, Harry, can you just leave it?"

"No, I can't! I don't want you to be mad at me," he says again, more desperately than angrily this time. "Just talk to me."

Louis stops in his tracks. "Okay, fine," he says, feeling a sudden rush of boldness. "Do you want to know what's fucking wrong?"

Harry shifts around on his feet, almost nervously. "Yeah," he says quietly, and he actually seems really hurt -- but no, Louis can't focus on that. He's got something to say. 

"Okay, this is what I fucking think. You came over to me and David and were so, completely obnoxious that it made me feel sick. Why would you go out of your way to make him feel so uncomfortable?!"

Harry's red. "Oh, no, that wasn't my intention, I -- "

"Oh, wasn't it?!" Louis says, voice getting louder with every word. "Have I ever done that to you or Nick? Have I?!"

"No, but that's completely different, I just -- "

"Different how?" Louis says incredulously. "That makes no fucking sense at all!"

"Okay, don't bring Nick into this, he -- "

Louis laughs humorlessly. " 'Don't bring Nick into this' -- do you hear yourself? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Louis, what are you talking about? I know you hate Nick, but you -- "

"Oh my god," Louis says. "Okay, hold up. I don't hate Nick. I just -- " Louis pauses, looking at the amount of sheer confusion on Harry's face. 

It's time. 

"Okay. This is what I think," Louis says, looking Harry straight in the eye. "This is in no way a reflection of your character, or his, or my opinion of him per se; this is what I think about the two of you together. The fact of the matter is, he doesn't deserve someone like you. He's not worth stressing over, the way you've been stressing over him for ages now. You deserve someone who cares about you and not just about themselves. You're telling me, all the time when you talk about how amazing Nick is, that being with someone shallow and inconsiderate -- someone who picks fights with you just to make you sad -- is worth it?! How do you think I fucking feel about this?!" Louis' voice cracks here, and he swallows thickly before continuing. "I've been listening to you talk about him and only him for over a fucking year, and the entire time all I've wanted to say to you is that you deserve so much more than him. I can tell you for fucking certain that he wouldn't be standing where I stand now, listening to you talk about all of your deepest secrets and everything that makes you happy or sad and basically everything about you, much less about another guy. He wouldn't care about you enough to remember all of your favorite songs and your favorite foods and the fact that you like only ever like to drink orange juice in the mornings and never tea or coffee, or that only like to wear that one pair of boots because you think they're lucky, and he wouldn't find all of these things completely and utterly endearing. But I do, Harry. And do you know why? Because I fucking care about you, you piece of shit. I honestly can't believe you haven't realized this. I care about you so much, and I always have since that one fucking day last year that I told you and you rejected me. I know that he's not the one for you, he's not the one who's ever actually there for you the way I am and he's clearly not making you happy right now. And yes, I know that you chose him last year, and I know that you just want the two of us to be friends even if I want us to be more than that -- and honestly, if that's what you really want, then that's fucking fine! Whatever! I'm not saying all of this to try and convince you that I'm better than him or anything like that -- no, that's the last fucking thing I want you to get out of this. What I want you to understand right now is that he's not it. He isn't worth your fucking time. You need someone that makes you happy. If you don't think I'm that person, then like I said, fine. But one thing I do know for certain is that he isn't that person either, and I am not going to sit around and listen to you complain about him when he isn't even fucking worth complaining about."

Louis lets out a deep breath, a sense of relief sinking into his bones. "I'm not trying to put you into any complicated situations," Louis says quietly, still not taking his eyes off of Harry's shocked face. "And I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable or anything. It's just that I've been dealing with all of this for so long, and I can't stand you getting in the way of me and another guy when I finally have someone interested in me who could possibly help me move on. You just had to scare him off like that, and ruin whatever chance I had to leave you alone, the way you want me to. You can't just do things like that because you feel like it! It's so incredibly frustrating, and it's really hypocritical of you to pull shit like that, and give me mixed signals in that way. It's not fair to me in the slightest. I just," Louis clears his throat. "I just thought you should know."

Louis waits for a response from Harry that doesn't come. He stands there, and Harry stands there, and they just stare at each other. Louis' heart sinks, because no, not again.

"Alright," Louis finally says. "I see where you stand now. Um. Thanks for listening, I guess."

He turns around to walk away, and then hears a sudden rush of footsteps. 

Louis looks back quickly, hoping that Harry's running to catch up with him, that he's going to say something.

But when he looks back, Harry's nowhere to be seen.

And Louis decides that this time, instead of watching Harry leave him yet again, he's going to walk away.


	6. Chapter 6

Two days later, the school is buzzing with quiet rumors about one Harry Styles, and Louis is terrified.

Louis had spent the better part of his time after the "rejection round two" incident moping about and not talking to anyone at all. He's barely even said anything to his mother or sisters, which really isn't something that has ever happened.

Harry never once contacted him throughout this painful time period, and as a result, Louis has come to the conclusion that it's all over now. He royally fucked it up this time, and didn't even manage to salvage his friendship. If only he'd learn to keep his mouth shut.

So, it's clear to see why Louis feels like he's going to piss his pants the second he hears Harry's name being whispered in the hallways. Had Harry gone and told Nick about what Louis said? Did Harry tell anyone about what Louis said? Does everyone know how pathetically much Louis likes him now?

He needs answers. But at the same time, he's too scared to ask.

He hurriedly grabs a couple of his textbooks from his locker and is trying to stuff them into his backpack when David saunters up to him, flashing him a grin. "Louis! Did you get my text last night?"

A sudden rush of annoyance consumes Louis, settles itself inside of his skin and bones. He grits his teeth, wanting nothing more in this moment than to go home and sleep for an extremely long while.

"Yeah, um, sorry. I've had my phone off a lot over the past couple of days, because. Homework. And stuff." Louis internally cringes. Not his best excuse.

David merely shrugs. "Well, I'd wanted to tell you something that I heard about your friend, the one that you said was having relationship problems. His name's Harry Styles, right?"

Louis freezes, looking over his shoulder at David. "Yeah..."

"Well, rumor has it that his troubles are over. They broke up."

Louis drops his textbooks.

They broke up. They broke up. They broke up. The three words are echoing inside his head, ringing through his brain and heart and he should be elated right now, should be completely ecstatic, but he can't help but think this is all some sort of sick joke, or dream. He feels like he's underwater, as though the volume of everything around him has been reduced to muffled, static noise -- the only thing he can hear is the rushing of water pounding in his ears. They broke up.

Lost in his thoughts, Louis doesn't realize that David had picked up his books and is trying to get his attention.

He breaks the surface, the volume of his surroundings back to normal. "Louis? You alright?" David is asking.

Louis accepts the textbooks that David is holding out, his hands trembling as he hugs them tight to his chest. "Y-yeah. I'm fine."

David gives him a weird look. "Um. Alright. Well, I've gotta go to class. See you at lunch?"

"Oh, um, yeah, sure."

And with that, David gives him one last, concerned look, before walking away.

Louis is left staring emptily at the wall, books in hand. He doesn't realize that he should probably be heading to class like a normal person until the bell rings and jolts him back into reality.

They broke up.

****

Louis sees Nick a couple of hours later, and notes that he looks like he's been hit by a bus. So Harry did it, then. Harry's the one who broke up with him.

Louis seriously doesn't know how he feels about this. All he feels is a strange buzzing sensation, something that makes his chest feel like it's about to burst and causes his legs to shake and removes him from all normal processes of thought.

Which is why he legitimately thinks he's going to throw up when he sees Harry as he's walking to fourth period.

They make eye contact for a split second, and then -- as if in slow motion -- Louis watches Harry's face light up, grin spreading across his face as if someone had flipped a switch or something.

Louis feels his own smile taking over his face before he consciously realizes it.

Harry rushes over to him, looking as gorgeous as ever. Louis' completely choked up, and he stops walking altogether.

When Harry's standing in front of him, they kind of just look at each other for a bit.

Harry breaks the silence. "Hey," he says quietly, and Louis' going to fucking explode.

"Hi," he says back, giving Harry a small smile.

Harry opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the bell, and Louis jumps. He only then notices that the halls around him are empty, everyone having already gone to their classes.

"Shit," Harry mutters. "Hey, can we talk later on? I think we have a lot that we need to sort out."

Louis nods eagerly. "Of course! Yeah, that'd -- that'd be great!"

Harry breaks into that face-splitting grin again. "Perfect. I'll text you, Lou." And then he's gone.

Louis walks to class in a daze.

****

are you home

The texts lights up his phone at precisely 4:27 pm, and Louis' heart starts pounding. He grabs his phone and thumbs out a quick text.

yeah, why?

The response comes almost as soon as Louis' sent it.

come for a bike ride with me 

Louis rolls his eyes, despite the fact that his chest is fluttering. 

alright, when?

now, maybe? im sort of outside your house..

Louis' eyes nearly pop out of his head. He places his phone on the couch (right after quickly checking his hair in the camera app, of course) before rushing towards the door, pulling it open only to find none other than Harry Styles on the sidewalk down the path. He's holding onto one side of the handlebars of his bike with his left hand, phone in his right. 

As soon as Louis opens the door, Harry looks up, eyes bright. "I'll take that as a yes then?" he calls out, and Louis just shakes his head, smiling fondly. "Let me go put shoes on, you idiot."

Harry just grins in response, eyes twinkling. Jerk.

****

They ride their bikes around town, cruising along the bike path and making casual, easy conversation until they get to a cute, enclosed park. "Hey, let's stop here!" Harry calls to Louis over his shoulder from where he's pedaling in front of him, and Louis' heart is going to either stop or explode. Louis reckons that neither option would be particularly good. 

Louis comes to a stop behind Harry, and they both walk their bikes to a bench, leaning them on a tree near it. 

The park is quiet. Louis and Harry are the only ones there, sitting under that tree on the bench, looking out onto an empty field. There's a small play structure on the other side of the field, and a swing-set beside it, but there aren't any kids playing, seeing as it's a school night and it's becoming quite late. The air is turning cooler as the sun begins to set, the breeze feeling good on their slightly damp skin. 

Louis doesn't know what to do with himself. 

He's fiddling with his fingers in his lap when Harry clears his throat. The second Louis looks up and meets Harry's eyes -- which look alarmingly green, the leaves of the trees and bushes around them bringing out the different shades in his irises -- he begins to speak. "I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am."

Louis opens his mouth to speak, but Harry stops him. "No, Louis, please let me finish. I have so much I have to say to you right now, so much I have to tell you."

Louis just nods, biting his lip. 

"You were completely, utterly right. I have been such a massive jerk to you for months and months, I was a horrible friend who wasn't paying as much attention to you as I should have. You've got to understand, Louis, I would never, ever do any of this purposely. I'm so completely sorry, because you are so very important to me and I can't bear to even think about how upset you probably were because of how insensitive and idiotic I was being. I'm surprised you're even speaking to me at the moment.  
"The truth is, I really did like Nick at the beginning, a lot. When you told me you liked me, I was so conflicted, because I had feelings for Nick and I knew he liked me too, and I figured that maybe you didn't really like me all that much because before, when I had feelings for you, you told me that you just wanted to be friends."

Louis furrows his eyebrows, opening his mouth to speak again, but Harry holds up a finger. "I'm not saying you were lying or anything, Louis. I'm not saying I didn't believe you. I'm just saying that I had my doubts, my insecurities. Can you blame me?"

Louis sighs. "I guess not."

"Plus, I really, really liked him. And things with him were great for months, really. But then, after a while longer, things got weird.  
"Like, you had made it clear to me probably a month or so into my relationship with Nick that you'd moved on. And I, of course, believed you because you're my best friend and I figured that you were definitely telling me the truth. I know now that you were lying, but I don't hold that against you in the slightest.  
"So, anyways, I knew that this weird feeling I kept getting wasn't caused by you telling me you didn't like me anymore. I just, it was like -- it was like I kept comparing Nick to you? Which, I guess wasn't really fair to him, but. I don't know. When we'd go on dates, I'd be thinking like, 'What would this be like if it were Louis?' or, 'This would be really fun with Louis,' or, 'Louis would love this place.' And I kept trying to shake the thoughts out of my head, because for one, Nick, and secondly, because I was certain you'd actually moved on, like you said.  
"It was probably stupid of me to assume that was the case, because I hadn't even tried to pay attention and see if I was right. I just kind of went with it, and I continued talking about everything without thinking about what effect it may have on you, which was stupid as shit, to be honest, because I was probably insanely annoying. I kept talking to you about my relationship even after you told me that you didn't like it. It was ridiculously stupid, but I hadn't thought that it would hurt you in the sense that you liked me. I thought my feelings were one-sided. Of course I still had feelings for Nick, but, there was something there for you too. The feelings I had for Nick, though, were fading pretty quickly. Things between us were getting really bad, as you know; we were fighting all the time. I was already thinking about the consequences of a potential breakup, and I remember thinking that the pros might outweigh the cons."

He puts his hand on Louis' knee here, and Louis completely, definitely stops breathing.

"And then, the whole David thing happened, when I was at your house and he dropped you off, and seeing you with him -- God, Louis, I was so fucking angry. I knew I had no right to be, but ever since, I couldn't stop fucking thinking about you. It's so stupid, and childish, but that just killed me. I was so ignorant that I hadn't even thought about how you can completely go and date other people and I'd have no say, and like you said, I was being a complete hypocrite, because that's what I'd been doing, with Nick. I'm ridiculous and terrible and so, so sorry.  
"Then after lunch a couple of days ago, when you got angry with me -- which I don't blame you for at all, by the way -- I just knew. That was such a wake-up call, like, why the fuck was I still with Nick if he was treating me so badly? Why should I fucking put myself through all of that bullshit when all it's done is make me unhappy?  
"And I knew that you were right. You've never made me unhappy. You've always been there for me. And in all honesty, I care about you so much that it hurts me. I never want you to be upset, and I always want to be around you, and you just make me fucking smile Louis. No one can make me laugh like you can. And my feelings had been confirmed -- I knew, on that day that you left your date to be with me when I was upset, that I couldn't ignore my feelings for you any longer, but everything you said on Monday just solidified it.  
"So, here's the thing. I like you, Louis -- god, I like you so much. But -- "

Louis had been gaping at Harry, wide-eyed throughout all of this. His heart was soaring -- finally, this is going to work out for him. But then Harry said "But," and Louis' heart sunk, because of course. 

"But?!" Louis says, slightly ashamed at how desperate he probably sounds. "Why is there a but?!"

"But, I only just broke up with Nick last night. I can't start dating you a day after I broke up with my ex -- that'd be kind of mean, you know?"

Louis' heart stills, relief sinking into his pores. "Oh. Yeah, that makes sense."

"Trust me, though," Harry says, taking Louis' hand now, and Louis might probably die. "I really want this to happen for us. Like, we've both gone through quite a bit of shit the past few years, haven't we?"

Louis shrugs, a twisted half-smile on his face. 

"So," Harry continues, "I think it's about time that this happens. To be completely honest, I feel like I kind of had feelings for you all along, you know? I don't think it ever went away. I was just too blind and stupid to realize it.  
"And I also don't want you to think that you're a rebound or anything. I want enough time to pass so that I can prove to you that I really do care about you, because I do, and that I won't up and leave you out of nowhere."

Louis is speechless.

"And plus, aren't you still with David?"

Louis makes a face. "I don't think that was ever actually a thing. I was just trying to get over you, in all honesty, which was probably not very nice of me but like. Yeah. I don't know. I thought if I went on enough dates with him, I'd stop thinking about you and I'd stop wanting to be with you so often, and that I'd have feelings for him instead. It didn't work."

Harry smiles, gently bumping his shoulder against Louis'. "Good thing it didn't, yeah?"

Louis sticks his tongue out at Harry, and Harry laughs.

"So let's give it a month or so, yeah? And then...if you'd still want me, I'd be yours."

Louis' eyes are positively sparkling with adoration now, he can feel it. "Of course I'd want you. I've been waiting an entire year, I think I can make do for another month."

"Good, because I don't think I'd be able to wait longer than a month," Harry admits, eyes shining with happiness, and the two of them burst into giggles, Louis resting his head on Harry's shoulder.

Once their laughter dies down, Harry takes a deep breath. "Until then, though," Harry says, "Friends?"

Louis smirks. "Sure, yeah. Friends."

Harry's smile is so fucking big that Louis thinks it must hurt his face. And then he takes Louis by complete surprise when he leans in and pecks Louis' cheek before jumping up and over to their bikes.

Louis, a blushing mess, jumps up after him. "I'm pretty sure people who are 'just friends' don't do that, Harry!"

Harry turns around and winks. "So sue me."

He then gets on his bike and starts pedaling away, and Louis mutters curses under his breath, smiling despite himself, before following.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey David. Can -- can we meet up later tonight, maybe?"

There's a moment of silence on the line, before Louis hears David clear his throat. "Yeah, sure. D'you want me to come over?"

"Yeah, please. In like, half an hour or so?"

"Yeah, that works for me. I'll see you then, Louis." 

"Bye."

Louis stares at the black screen of his phone after David hangs up, sighing. He doesn't want to do this, but. It has to be done. 

He exhales loudly. Harry only just left his house ten minutes ago, having come inside after their bike ride. Louis, at first, had smiled like a lunatic after he'd gone, because today actually happened, all of this was real. He had covered his smile with his hand -- which was wrapped inside of his light red sweater; sweater paws are his favorite thing -- even though there was no one else in the room to see it. 

But it hadn't taken even two minutes of Louis sitting there by himself to realize the magnitude of what he'd actually done. He'd essentially agreed to date Harry behind David's back -- and that's really fucking messed up, even if he's not completely sure about what his and David's relationship status is supposed to be. This is David, the sweetest person Louis has ever met, the one person who is the most undeserving of this kind of treatment. David.

Louis couldn't even bear thinking about it at that point. He knew he had to end that, he knew he had to tell David the truth, about everything. It was the only way the guilt would go away, the only way he would be comfortable being in a relationship with Harry in the future.

So he called him, asked him to come over. And now he's blankly staring at his phone, and the realization is finally sinking in that he's got to somehow tell this incredible person that he was unknowingly using him because of his own selfish needs.

Fuck.

****

The doorbell rings loudly. "I'll get it!" Louis shouts up the stairs, and he bounds toward the door.

He takes a deep breath before opening it. David is standing there with a sheepish smile on his face and his hands stuffed in his pockets. 

"Hey," Louis says quietly, gesturing for David to come in. David walks in slowly, meandering in the vague direction of the couch. Louis quickly shuts the door and scurries over to him, sitting down on the couch and motioning for David to do the same. 

"So, what's up?" David asks hesitantly, and Louis bites his lip. 

He takes a long pause before starting. 

"So, um." He clears his throat. "I don't really know how to start, I'm sorry," he says with a nervous laugh. "Um."

David just smiles at him, and scratches the back of his neck. "It's Harry, isn't it?"

Louis blanches, mouth falling open the slightest bit. "W-wha -- "

"No, it's okay," David says with a short laugh. He pats Louis' knee. "You guys didn't really do a good job of being subtle."

"No, but -- no. Like, I wasn't -- we were never in a relationship the whole time you and I were -- I mean, we're still technically not even dating but I had just wanted to, to tell you that we -- "

David laughs again, and when he smiles at Louis, his smile is genuine. "No, I understand. I'm not accusing you of cheating on me or anything. I wasn't even sure we were actually dating, I don't think we ever were -- it's hard to cheat on someone when you're not dating."

"But -- but how -- "

David holds a hand up, still smiling. "You don't need to explain anything to me. The way you'd talk about him, the look on your face whenever he was around -- that says it all. I knew for quite a while, I think, so. I'm not hurt or anything, because I knew this would happen. It's okay."

Louis' eyebrows furrow together in confusion. "Jesus, David, I -- I'm so sorry if I made you think that I didn't care about you, because I did. I still do. Just, not -- not in that way. And I'm sorry that it took me this long to convince myself of that. You're a great friend, and I'd hate to lose you because of any of this, and I mean that. I'm not just saying that to like, 'soften the blow' or anything shitty like that."

David shakes his head. "I never thought that you were shitty, Louis, and I definitely don't think you're being shitty right now. Trust me. I understand completely, I -- I've been in your situation before. Liking a person who's in a relationship isn't easy, and -- and sometimes you convince yourself that being with someone else will help you get through it. I know you didn't mean any harm."

Louis tugs the sleeves of his red sweater further over his hands, and balls them up into fists, so that they're completely enveloped in the fabric. He looks down at his lap. "I'm so sorry," he whispers, and he really is. He feels like what he did was ridiculously wrong, and completely unlike him. He hates people who use others, and hadn't fully let himself accept that that's exactly what he was becoming -- a user. 

And David being so understanding about it only makes him feel worse. 

"Hey," David says quietly. "Stop saying that. I'm not upset, it's okay."

Louis sighs, shaking his head. "I just feel terrible, is the thing."

David doesn't say anything for a long time, but then Louis feels a light warmth on his shoulder. He looks up quickly and sees David watching him kindly with those mint green eyes. "He looks at you like you've hung up the moon and the stars. You look at him like he's everything you've ever wanted and more," David says, "It'd be idiotic of me to even hope that I'd have a chance, not when you two feel so strongly for each other. I'm serious when I say that I understand. It's okay. You guys care about each other so much, and now that he's single, I know that you want to go for it. It makes sense to me." He pauses, leaning back. "I want you to be happy."

Louis sniffles, only then realizing that his eyes have fogged up a bit, listening to David talk. He lets out a watery laugh. "Thank you. And, I'm sorry I couldn't make you happy the way you deserve."

David smiles. "And I'd like to say the same to you. But I'm really very happy that things are hopefully starting to work out for you." He stands up, and Louis stands up with him, the two of them walking towards the door. "Have you talked to him yet?"

Louis' lips twitch, and he has to work to fight the smile spreading across his face. "Yeah, um. Yeah. We talked about stuff today."

David wiggles his eyebrows. "And?"

"And, um, yeah. I think -- I think it's going to work."

David beams at Louis in such a way that Louis can't help but beam back. "God, I'm so happy for you," David says, wrapping his arms around Louis in a hug. Louis returns the hug tightly, and they stand there for a few moments before David finally lets go. "You deserve this, you deserve to be happy and to be with him."

Louis ducks his head, blushing. "Thank you," he says quietly, fiddling with his sweater paws. 

And with that, David bids a final goodbye to Louis, steps out the door, and is gone. 

****

The next morning, Louis is at his locker, dumping some of his textbooks inside and taking some out. His hands are shaking slightly, a by-product of him realizing that he is, in fact, at school, a place in which he will definitely run into Harry. He hopes to god that Harry didn't somehow change his mind about everything upon seeing him today. 

"Louis!"

Louis swallows thickly and sets his backpack on the floor at his feet, because he physically cannot handle supporting its weight at the moment. Shit. 

Even among the chatter and locker-slamming and squeaky footsteps in the locker hall, Louis knows that it's Harry, calling out to him. And his assumption is confirmed when he turns around and sees Harry walking straight toward him, eyes bright and smile wide. 

His smile falters a bit when he makes eye contact with Louis though, his gaze turning into something very, very different. Something happens to the light in his eyes -- it doesn't necessarily dim, but it still gets darker all the same. It makes Louis nervous, makes his heart thump erratically in his chest and his hands shake even harder. He balls them into fists. 

Harry bites his lip and slows down a little, eyeing Louis in that weird way. He's still not close enough to Louis where Louis could have a conversation with him at a normal volume, so Louis settles on giving him a sheepish smile and a small wave. 

That does something to Harry. Everything seems to speed up again, the light in his eyes becomes one of determination, and before Louis knows it, Harry is crowding up into his space, forcing Louis to almost have to back up into the wall of lockers. For a heartbeat, time is suspended, Louis looking up at Harry and his green eyes and his pink lips, feeling the warmth of Harry's body all around him, his hands shaking with nerves and his stomach spinning with butterflies. 

And Louis realizes, in that split second, that David was actually right -- Harry's eyes are filled to the brim with care, overflowing with emotion, with that look that Louis hadn't truly seen directed at him for years. The thought makes Louis' heart want to burst, makes him want to sing and fly and change the fucking world. 

And then Harry's hands are on Louis' hips, and then they're moving up his sides, and then one of them jumps up to cup his face while the other travels back down to his waist. 

Harry lets out a quiet, disbelieving laugh, looking as though he can't believe this is actually happening either, and god, Louis wants to kiss him, he really, really wants to just -- 

And then Harry's lips are on his, and Louis' hands are in Harry's hair, and they both know that people are probably watching them but neither of them care, because they've been waiting for this for so long. Harry's lips are plush and warm, moving against his own gently but with purpose. He tastes like spearmint toothpaste, and he's so sweet, is treating Louis with such care and consideration, and Louis is so, so fucking happy. 

It's funny, Louis thinks, how much has happened at this fucking locker.

Louis licks into Harry's mouth one last time, dragging it out before pulling back the slightest bit. Harry leans forward a bit, chasing after Louis' lips. Louis giggles and presses a quick kiss to the corner of Harry's mouth before pulling away completely.

When Harry smiles at him, Louis feels like he's staring at a thousand, burning stars, like he's just broken the surface of the ocean after being pushed down by wave after wave. He feels like he's just found shelter in the midst of an awful storm, like he's huddling over a warm fireplace after having to sit in the middle of the frozen tundra for hours, like Harry's fucking smile just saved his life, like he can breathe again. 

He's loved this boy so much, for so fucking long. And the reality of it all, the fact that they actually just kissed in the middle of their crowded locker hall at school, and the fact that neither of them care that they fucking made out for their first time in public at fucking school hits him like a freight train.

He realizes though, that even though it's unconventional, he wouldn't have it any other way.

He smiles back at Harry, and Harry's grip on Louis' waist tightens. He still hasn't backed away from Louis, but Louis isn't complaining; if he could have it his way, Harry would always be in his space, twenty four-seven. "I don't think," Harry whispers into Louis' ear, his warmth breath brushing against Louis' skin and making his entire body buzz, "That this whole 'waiting for a month' thing is going to work for me." He squeezes Louis' waist one more time meaningfully, and Louis is fucking breathless. "I say we forget that we ever agreed to wait a month in the first place," Louis breathes quietly, and Harry licks his lips. He kisses Louis again in an even softer, gentler way this time, hand curling around the back of Louis' neck in such a way that makes Louis feel so so warm and so so safe. He pulls away much quicker than last time, though, and leans in to whisper in Louis' ear again. "I think we can work something out."

Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for putting up with me, my slow updates, and this story in general. I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think!


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